By Nkhensani Mthombeni
- Odas Ngobeni was sworn in as Greater Tzaneen’s new mayor on Monday after a motion of no confidence removed Gerson Molapisane without a single objection from councillors.
- A councillor told Scrolla that the official reasons given were vague and that nobody in the chamber could explain what Molapisane actually did wrong.
Greater Tzaneen Municipality has a new mayor. But the councillors who voted out the old one cannot tell you why.
Odas Ngobeni was sworn in during a special council sitting on Monday morning in Limpopo. The motion of no confidence against his predecessor, Gerson Molapisane, passed without a single objection from councillors present.
The official reason given was non-compliance with the Local Government Structures Act, the Municipal Finance Management Act and other regulations. But a councillor who spoke to Scrolla on condition of anonymity said the explanation left the chamber none the wiser.
“We were told that the motion of no confidence emanates from non-compliance with duties, obligations and responsibilities,” the councillor said.
“However it is all vague to us, we don’t know what Molapisane did wrong.”
The DA in Limpopo went further. The party said the removal was not about legislation at all, but about ANC internal factional battles. It also raised a more serious allegation: that Molapisane was targeted because he refused to allow municipal funds to be used for ANC party-political purposes. The DA said if true, this would confirm that factional battles are being placed above the service delivery needs of Greater Tzaneen residents.
Molapisane was not available for comment.
Outside the municipal offices on Monday, ANC members from different branches gathered to celebrate Ngobeni’s appointment. Many praised him as a young leader, with Ngobeni understood to be in his 40s.
Not everyone is celebrating for the same reason. Hlampfura Malamula, a taxi driver in Tzaneen, said he hopes the new mayor works better with taxi associations than his predecessor did.
Molapisane took two months to approve the association’s cross-border permit recommendations. Malamula said he hopes Ngobeni sets a good example and that education pays off.
Ngobeni’s appointment follows a turbulent month in Limpopo’s ANC municipalities. Since President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the local election date, the ANC’s Provincial Executive Committee has replaced two mayors in the province. On 8 May, Miyelani Chauke was sworn in as executive mayor of Vhembe District Municipality, replacing Fredah Nkondo.
Greater Tzaneen goes into the local elections with a new mayor, unanswered questions about why the last one was removed, and a DA allegation that public funds may have been at the centre of it all.
Pictured above: Odas Ngobeni was sworn in as the new mayor of Greater Tzaneen Municipality during a special council sitting on Monday morning.
Image source: Nkhensani Mthombeni
